


How Claude Met Dimitri

by NowYoCandysGone



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Byleth is the greatest best friend in existence, Claude is a stressed out grad student, Dimitri is a diplomat, M/M, More tags to be added, Multi, Multichapter, Platonic!Claudeleth, Slow Burn, Text message screenshots, dimiclaude
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:28:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25952956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NowYoCandysGone/pseuds/NowYoCandysGone
Summary: "Him?" Byleth looked over to the man and a huge smile broke out on her face. "No way. I know him.""You do?" Claude asked. "I should have guessed, By. You know literally everyone." He sighed. "Out of curiosity, how do you know him?""He facilitated the Model UN, last semester. You would know him too if you had signed up with me!""Damn. Never before have I wished that I hadn't missed a Model UN."
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	How Claude Met Dimitri

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Bina (tangerinabina_de_archanea) for helping me from start to finish with this sucker! It means the world to me!

Claude Von Riegan: Stressed out graduate student and third shift employee at Fódlan Express, a 24-hour diner settled in the heart of downtown Faerghus. He couldn't say he liked his job, but it was paying for school--so he put up with it night in and night out. Dealing with drunk college students all night long was not easy. Oh well. At least they tipped decently. 

The clock ticked down from 9:59AM to 10:00AM far too slowly for Claude's taste. He waited impatiently by the time clock, checking his watch every five seconds or so. He tapped his foot and crossed his arms over his chest. Waiting...waiting...waiting. Finally, the clock changed and he was quick to punch in his numbers before anyone else could ask him to do anything more. He was no longer on the clock; it was not his problem anymore.

As he rounded the counter to make his way out of the diner, the bell above the door rang as it opened, and a young man walked in. 

He was tall and blonde, with his long hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. In his arms were haphazard stacks of papers and his trenchcoat was one button off all the way down. He was very frazzled, and clearly needed coffee, stat. If Claude was judging him solely on those facts alone, that would be enough for him. Curiously enough, there was a fancy suit under the trenchcoat, revealed as he walked further into the restaurant, and the laptop bag on his shoulder was clearly expensive. The man was an enigma to be sure. A paradox from head to toe, and it made Claude want to know more. 

In all of his years working at Fodlan Express, Claude had never seen the man before. However, one thing was certain. He was the most handsome man Claude had ever seen.

"Excuse me?" The man asked. "Do you have WiFi here?" 

Claude blinked, snapping out of his haze. "Huh?" 

"WiFi. Do you have it?" 

"Oh, yeah. Password of the day is blackberry, all lower case," Claude said. The young man nodded and took a seat at an empty table towards the back of the diner. Claude watched him do so, and couldn't stop staring.

"What's with you, Riegan?" The hostess, Hilda, asked while walking over to him. "You're usually out the door as soon as ten hits. Don't you have class in an hour?" 

Claude ignored Hilda in favor of staring at the man who had now pulled out his laptop and had put in an earpiece. 

"RIEGAN!" Hilda shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. Claude jolted. 

"Geez Hilda, what was that for?" 

"You look like a deer in the headlights!" She followed his gaze over to the man. "Do you know him?" 

"No. But I want to."

"Claude, you have class in an hour...aaand he's gone." 

Claude did his best to walk up nonchalantly to the young man's table, gazing idly at his computer screen. Several windows were open, and some of them appeared to be in other languages. Just what did this guy do for a living? It was rude to stare, but Claude was nothing if not curious. 

He tried very hard to think of a good opening line. Something smooth. 

"Excuse me? Can I get a cup of coffee?"

Claude's eyes moved from the computer screen to the man's face. He had amazingly deep blue eyes. A man could get lost in those eyes. And apparently, he had.

"Where have you  _ been _ all my life?" Claude muttered before he fully comprehended his words. 

"I'm...sorry?" The man clarified. 

Claude snapped out of his trance again. "Ah...sorry...what I meant to say was...oh beans. Sorry. Let me get that coffee for you. How do you take it?"

"Black, please."

"You got it," Claude said quietly, his cheeks reddening. He made his way to the coffee cart that was by the kitchen window. He could feel a heavy gaze on him and he looked up to see the chef, Dedue, was the cause of the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Von Riegan, you're off the clock, what do you think you're doing?" He asked.

"What? I can't help one last customer before I go?" 

"No." 

"Too bad, I'm doing it anyway."

Dedue let out a sigh and looked to Hilda, who simply shrugged her shoulders. 

Claude brought the mug back to the man's table and set it carefully next to his computer.

“Here you go. One fresh cup of joe,” Claude said. The man looked up at him.

“Thank you. D-did I hear the cook say that you’re off the clock?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. But only just.”

“I’m sorry to have inconvenienced you, I could have asked someone else.”

“Nah, it’s all good. Besides, I don’t mind so much if I get to serve a handsome customer.”

“Did you say...handsome?”

_ Shit, shit, shit. Abort! Abort! _

Claude made a show of looking at the wrong wrist, despite the fact that he was wearing a watch. 

“Oh would you look at that, I’m late for class. Coffee is on the house, see ya.” Claude quickly retreated towards the door. 

As he passed the kitchen, Dedue shouted, “That coffee is coming out of your check, Von Riegan!”

Once Claude was long gone, the man looked at Dedue. “I er...I can pay for the coffee.”

\---

Claude arrived in his poly-sci class just five minutes before the class was scheduled to begin. He usually arrived at least twenty minutes in advance so that he could chat with his best friend, Byleth, before class. She was already sitting in her usual seat at the back of the lecture hall when he arrived.

“Hey Claude, where were you? I was starting to worry that you had died or something!” Byleth said, watching as he slipped into his seat next to her. 

“I might as well be dead…” he muttered, tossing his head back hard enough to thwack it against the wall.

“Whoa, what happened? I’ve  _ never _ seen you like this.”

“I met my soulmate...and I fucked it up.”

Byleth couldn’t help but giggle, eliciting a groan from Claude. “I’m sure you didn’t mess up that bad.”

“Trust me, By--it was bad.  _ Meeting your dad _ levels of bad."

“Oh. Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

Before Byleth could say anything more, their professor entered the room and greeted everyone. It was his way of saying, ‘no more talking, class now.’

\---

Claude was distracted all through class. Instead of taking notes on ethics in nonprofits, he was doodling in his notebook. He wasn't a great artist by any means, but he managed to capture the bright blue eyes of the man from that morning. His unruly hair, and the stubble on his chin. Before Claude knew it, Byleth was nudging him. He looked up and saw that people were filing out of the lecture hall. Was class really already over?

"Dude, you didn't listen to a word Professor Hanneman said today, did you?" 

"Nah. But I know my best friend took excellent notes and can get me caught up in a heartbeat," he said teasingly.

Byleth rolled her eyes but laughed anyway. Claude closed his notebook and packed up his messenger bag. 

"So, dorkface, tell me about this soulmate of yours," she said as they walked the halls of the social sciences building on their way to the dining hall for lunch.

"Oh, By, you should have seen him! He was the most handsome guy I've ever seen! Blonde hair, blue eyes, frazzled beyond belief but in the most charming way." 

"So did you talk to him?" 

"Unfortunately…" Claude said while scratching the back of his head. "I maaay have asked him where he's been all my life." 

"Oh no," Byleth said, her eyes widening.

"And then he asked for coffee, and Boss yelled at me when I went to get it for him because I was off the clock." 

"Dude."

"I know, I know. Not making the best first impression. But he had me as frazzled as he looked."

"Claude, I'm sure you're making it out to be worse than it was…" Byleth tried to reassure him. 

The two exited the building, and Claude stopped in his tracks after three steps.

"No. No fucking way." 

"What? What's wrong?" 

"That's him!" Claude said, gesturing to the man from that morning. He was standing outside the building, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Him?" Byleth looked over to the man and a huge smile broke out on her face. "No way. I  _ know _ him." 

"You do?" Claude asked. "I should have guessed, By. You know  _ literally everyone. _ " He sighed. "Out of curiosity, how do you know him?" 

"He facilitated the Model UN, last semester. You would know him too if you had signed up with me!" 

"Damn. Never before have I wished that I hadn't missed a Model UN."

"Come on, I'll introduce you." 

Claude's eyes widened. "No. No no no. I'm not…" but it was too late. Byleth was already walking over to him. 

"Dimitri? Dimitri Blaiddyd?" She asked. The man looked up and smiled. 

"Well, if it isn't Miss Brigid! How are you, Byleth?" 

"I'm good! What brings you here?" 

"Him, actually," Dimitri said, pointing at Claude. Byleth looked behind her to see Claude hadn't made his way over. He was frozen in place.

"Really?" 

"Yes. I wished to apologize properly for this morning. I hadn't realized that he was off the clock when I asked him for coffee. The pink haired hostess told me I could find him here..." 

"Well, I'm sure he'd love to hear that, uh...can you hang on for a sec?" 

"Of course," Dimitri said.

Byleth made her way over to Claude and grabbed his arm. He started to protest, but Byleth was stronger than him. Finally, she got him over to Dimitri.

"Dimitri, I want you to meet Claude Von Riegan," 

Dimitri held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you properly, Claude." 

Byleth nudged Claude, who was still frozen. " _ Shake his hand, dork. _ " She hissed. 

Claude shot Byleth a look, then swallowed the lump in his throat and took Dimitri's outstretched hand, shaking it firmly. Dimitri smiled at him. A man could melt at that smile. Claude had _ already _ melted at that smile. His heart could have stopped right then and there.

"It's nice to meet you too," Claude said quietly. He was both angry with Byleth and insanely grateful. He owed her drinks for life if this worked out as he hoped. Of course, all of his words had left him, and he didn't know what to say to Dimitri. 

"I hope I didn't catch you two at a bad time," Dimitri said. His gaze was on Claude. Luckily, Byleth was there to help. 

"Nah, we were just on our way to lunch. It's Mac and Cheese day," Byleth said. "You're an alum, so if you wanted to join us…" 

That snapped Claude out of his daze.  _ Join them _ ? He nudged Byleth's shoulder. 

"What are you doing?" He whispered.

"Trust me. You'll thank me later." 

Dimitri looked down at his shoes then back at Claude and Byleth after they finished whispering. 

"I'd love to join you, actually. I have two hours before I have to be downtown." 

Byleth clapped her hands together excitedly. "Great!"

\---

After receiving their lunch trays, loaded high with Mac and Cheese, Byleth, Dimitri, and Claude all found seats together near the back of the cafeteria where the comfy seats were located.

Dimitri started eating first, and after a couple of bites, let out a positively  _ sinful _ moan of delight. Claude's fork stopped halfway to his mouth. If he was moaning like that over mac and cheese…

_ Stop it, Claude. You barely even know the man. _

"I missed this Mac and Cheese," Dimitri said. "Even though I've graduated, I still think about it." 

Byleth laughed. Claude resumed eating, trying to ignore the rampant thoughts that were causing his mind to race and his face to blush. 

"So Dimitri, what have you been up to? Are you still assistant to the Ambassador to Brigid?"

"Actually, no," Dimitri said. "I got a promotion two months ago. I am now the Ambassador to Almyra and Dagda. I'm just the temporary ambassador to Dagda, though, until they find a replacement for Shamir."

"Congratulations! That's amazing!" Byleth said. "So I assume that came with a raise?" 

"A significant one, yes," Dimitri replied. His gaze moved to Claude, who hadn't said a word since sitting down. He was currently shoveling mac and cheese into his mouth.

"So Claude, I know you work at Fódlan Express...are you a graduate student like Byleth?"

Claude swallowed his bite and set down his fork. "Yeah. I majored in nonprofit management for my undergrad, and now I'm getting my Masters in Political Science." 

"Wow! That's very impressive," Dimitri complimented. "What do you hope to do once you graduate?" 

"Ideally I'll start my own nonprofit. My family is from Almyra. There's a lot of need there and in other areas of Fódlan."

"Very admirable," Dimitri said. Byleth grinned and nudged Claude affectionately. 

“Yeah, my BFF is a smarty-pants with a big heart,” She affirmed. “I’m going to go get a refill on soda. Either of you need one?” 

“Nope, I’m good for now,” Claude said. “Thanks By.”

“Dimitri, how about you?”

“No, thank you, Byleth.” She nodded and walked away from the table with her cup in hand, leaving Claude and Dimitri alone together. It was silent for a good while as they ate.

“I don’t believe I got a chance to apologize for earlier, Claude,” Dimitri said, breaking the silence. “I’m sorry for inconveniencing you this morning. I hadn’t realized that you were off the clock."

“Huh? Oh. No need to apologize. I was more than happy to serve you.”

“I’m glad, but I still can’t help but feel bad. However, the coffee was lovely, as was my breakfast. Your chef really knows what he’s doing.”

“Oh yeah, Dedue is amazing. He actually owns the place.”

“Really? I never would have guessed. Well, I left a substantial tip. I hope that you get some of it.”

“Thanks for that,” Claude said, smiling. “I’ll make sure it gets split among us, before Hilda gets her mitts on it.” This elicited a laugh from Dimitri. 

“Sounds good.”

“How did you find me, anyway? I didn’t exactly mention where I was going…” Claude asked. 

“Well, you said you were ‘late for class’. So, I asked the pink haired hostess. She told me where you’d be.”

“I...see…” Claude made a mental note to thank Hilda later. "So, you mentioned that you've already graduated?"

"Yes. I graduated two years ago with my Master's in political science. My father worked for the UN, and I wished to follow in his footsteps, especially now that he's retired."

"Wow. That's awesome," Claude said. "How old are you?"

"I'll be 26 in December."

Claude's eyes widened. He was older than Dimitri, and yet he was already an ambassador? Perhaps he shouldn't have taken so long to complete his bachelor's…

"How old are you, Claude?"

"I just turned 26 in July," he admitted quietly.

Where on earth had Byleth gone? Had she gone to the other side of campus just to refill her soda? Or was she staying away for a reason? Claude looked up and saw Byleth talking with someone by the soda machine. The green hair gave him away to be Byleth's crush, Seteth. Of course she'd abandon him for Seteth.

"And what do you like to do in your free time?" Dimitri asked, despite Claude being distracted. 

"Hm? Oh, I don't have a lot of free time. If I'm not here or not working, I'm usually reading or studying." 

"Fair enough. School takes up a lot of energy. I can speak to that."

Claude laughed. "I'm sure you can."

His gaze drifted over to Byleth and Seteth again, but it was not met by Byleth. So much for being rescued.

Claude took a deep breath and looked at Dimitri. “Hey uh...you wouldn’t want to continue talking outside of this, would you?”

“I would like that very much, actually. I leave on Friday for a week-long trip to Dagda. But I would be remiss to not ask for your number first.” The blonde held out his phone to Claude. There was a smile on his face.

Claude blinked. Had Dimitri just asked for his number? That was...unexpected. However, it was welcome. The more he would get the chance to get to know Dimitri, the better. Claude accepted the device from Dimitri and quickly added himself as a contact, then handed the phone back to him.

“Text me anytime, yeah? I’m usually in class or at work, but I can still communicate,” Claude explained. 

“I am in a similar position. But I will do my very best to remain communicative. I'm looking forward to getting to know you further, Claude."

"As am I, Dimitri," Claude said. 


End file.
